Local News
Jewish Child and Family Service holds successful Annual General Meeting – online
By BERNIE BELLAN
In covering Annual General Meetings over the years I always try and find something different about which I can write – so that an article like this doesn’t end up being simply a repeat of previous years’ reports.
Of course, the fact that Jewish Child and Family Service, like the Jewish Foundation two weeks prior, held its AGM via Zoom (on June 24) is notable in itself. And, like the Jewish Foundation meeting, one must offer congratulations to the organizers of the meeting for how smoothly it ran (thanks in no small part to JCFS Executive Director Al Benarroch, who demonstrated quite a familiarity with technology during the course of the meeting).
Again, however, as was the case with the Jewish Foundation AGM, while the opportunity was presented to viewers to pose questions via the “chat” function that is available on Zoom, no questions were asked. For a wretched news reporter like me there is always the temptation to ask questions that have nothing to do with what is being covered during an Annual General Meeting, but are extremely relevant to the functioning of particular Jewish organizations – but, since those issues weren’t raised during the AGM – I kept my finger off the chat button.
Instead, I exchanged emails with Al Benarroch subsequent to the AGM. Al dealt with some issues that were not covered during the AGM in his email to me.
One of the issues that I raised in my email to Al was that, during the Jewish Foundation’s AGM, the subject that was of greatest interest to me was simply declared beyond the scope of that meeting by Foundation Board Chair Richard Yaffe, i.e., How much assistance have specific organizations received and are going to receive during the ongoing pandemic? (The Jewish Foundation has already disbursed $400,000 to Jewish organizations and will be disbursing $200,000 more sometime soon in the near future. According to Jewish Foundation Board Chair Richard Yaffe, however, we’ll have to wait until next year’s AGM to find out who got what. Now that’s what I call transparency!)
As for the Jewish Child and Family Service, heck, they’re also a well-run organization, – just like the Jewish Foundation, but there was no discussion of two issues hovering over JCFS that have been brought to the fore many times in the past.
While there wasn’t anything in the 2019-20 financial statement to raise any concerns during the JCFS’s AGM, there was also no reference at any time during the meeting to either the JCFS’s need for expanded office space, nor to the supposed plan developed years ago to build an addictions centre.
In the fall of 2019, for instance, this paper reported that JCFS had outgrown its existing office space and was desperately in need of new space.
Following is an excerpt from an interview I conducted with JCFS Executive Director Al Benarroch back in September 2019:
JP&N: … is there any news about where you might be going (to open another office)?
Benarroch: At our May general meeting we struck a task force that was asked to come back in a short period of time (by this September) with a plan. We’ve already looked at about half a dozen properties in and around about a 5-kilometre radius to the campus – in addition to having discussions with the Federation and the Asper Campus what can we do in this facility. And, are there any plans to expand the footprint of this campus if, in fact, the Federation’s strategic planning has said we have to grow services in many areas?
The strategic planning’s report talked about expanding services in education, in mental health, in support for seniors. If, in fact, we’re going to expand these services, where are they going to go.
…we’ve been looking for roughly 3,000 more square feet of space. We have a footprint right now of roughly 5,000 square feet for over 40 staff. We’ve given up a board room here. It’s been taken over by older adult service staff. We have a conference room which is adjacent to the board room; we’ve moved two staff in there.
Yesterday I gave up my office for the entire morning so that staff could interview clients.
We need to relieve the pressure we’re facing right now – yet alone plan for expanding and growing.
Whatever space we’d be looking at would be temporary. It’s now 22 years that we’ve been in this facility. The campus has taken over squash courts, it’s taken over a museum – internally, to accommodate the growth in services. Maybe it’s time now to look at growing outside this building, whether it’s on to the land – although apparently there are issues around digging on the land.
However, despite the issue of the JCFS’s need for more space, nary a word was mentioned about that during the AGM.
In his email to me following the AGM, Al Benarroch had this explanation why there was no mention of the lack of adequate space for JCFS: “This was not mentioned, as most of this was put on hold as a result of COVID-19, which has understandably taken priority. We shifted our focus to insuring that services are being provided to our most vulnerable. With staff working remotely and face-to-face & group programs being suspended at this time, space needs have not been a concern to service delivery at this time.
“Even in the face of the pandemic, we continue to work on our strategic planning goals, of which space needs remain a high priority. We will continue with this planning and resume more activity once the pandemic hopefully passes.”
As well, I’ve been writing for years about the supposed plan by JCFS to greatly expand addiction services. In 2015, when the National Council for Jewish Women announced that it was going to sell the building that housed the Gwen Secter Centre, the ostensible reason was to use the money to create a “Winnipeg Jewish Recovery and Resource Centre”. According to an article written by Myron Love back then, “The NCJW-supported residence, operated in conjunction with Winnipeg’s Jewish Child and Family Service, would provide a home environment with a Jewish atmosphere that would be open to both Jewish and non-Jewish residents with addiction issues.”
We haven’t heard much about that project either – although the National Council for Jewish Women did sell the building that houses the Gwen Secter Centre for $900,000.
Al Benarroch did however, offer this explanation for the lack of movement on building an addictions centre in his email: “I’m sure you can appreciate that non-profit organizations move at a slower pace and have to be much more accountable to donors and funders in planning these things, than would a project launched in the private sector.”But, my bringing up past plans shouldn’t get in the way of lauding the JCFS for another successful year (and the JCFS’s fiscal year ended March 31, 2020, just as the lockdown brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic was setting in.)
In recent issues I’ve written about how JCFS has responded so quickly to many of the needs that have developed within our community as a result of the pandemic, whether it be taking its counseling program online or offering food assistance to those in need, again working closely with the Gwen Secter Centre in coordinating the providing of shopping services to individuals who either can’t get out themselves or actual meals, as the case may be.
During the JCFS AGM, Al Benarroch referred to the manner in which JCFS has adapted to the reality of not being able to see clients in person, noting that “All staff transitioned to working from home. Food and pantry deliveries have ramped up.”
But even before the pandemic brought about such drastic changes in how we are all leading our lives, JCFS had been continuing to deal with growing demand for its many services.
Benarroch cited some figures to illustrate how vital a role JCFS has been playing in our community. In the 2018-19 fiscal year, JCFS:
• handled over 2500 cases involving 5700 individuals
• provided assistance to 77 immigrant families
• assisted an additional 50-60 Yazidi refugee families
• assisted over 500 frail seniors, including Holocaust survivors
• provided help for 150 clients with mental health or addiction issues
• provided counseling services for 200 individuals
• tended to the needs of 23 children in foster care
• helped another 200 individuals requiring financial assistance or food from the JCFS’s food pantry
• in cooperation with the Gwen Secter Centre, provided 150 Passover hampers
• provided seven inmates at Stony Mountain Penitentiary with kosher for Passover meals
Those were just some of the accomplishments Benarroch cited during his report.
In other news, outgoing JCFS President Sherry Lercher Davis reported that the JCFS’s endowment fund at the Jewish Foundation had grown by over $1 million in the fiscal year just passed – from $2 million to $3 million. As is the case with other Jewish organizations here, the Jewish Foundation has been encouraging them to create endowment funds that will provide a solid financial foundation for years to come.
In his Treasurer’s report, Al Shpeller noted that, once again, the JCFS operated in the black, with an excess of revenues over expenses of $28,447. It should be noted that the JCFS held a very successful “Community of Caring Gala” in 2018. During the 2019-20 fiscal year the proceeds from that gala were transferred to the Jewish Foundation, which is administering the JCFS endowment fund.
In one final piece of business, outgoing JCFS President Sherry Lercher Davis passed the gavel (figuratively, since everyone participating in the meeting was in their own home, save Al Benarroch, who was doing a masterful job coordinating the meeting from the JCFS offices) to incoming President Ari Hanson, who will now take on that role for a two-year term.
Local News
Is It Alberta’s Turn to Regulate Online Gambling? Looking at the Possibilities
Online gambling and betting in Canada is booming, with each province allowed to regulate its own space. Ontario, Canada’s most populated province, turned two this year after leading the way in April 2022. In what should motivate Alberta and other provinces, Ontario is already reaping the rewards, generating $100 million annually in gambling revenue. Will the local administration in Alberta do what is needed?
Talks have been rife that Alberta is considering going the Ontario way by having an open-licensing system. In July 2023, the minister for Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, Dale Nally, issued a mandate to make this province a hub of online sports betting and gambling.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith recently asked Nally to cooperate with indigenous partners and other stakeholders to develop an online gaming strategy. The main focus will be on revenue generation and responsible gambling. In light of this, Nally said Alberta’s primary focus is becoming a “leading hub for iGaming” with streamlined regulations and low corporate taxes. Such conditions should position Alberta to become a leading iGaming destination.
A few weeks ago, the minister attended the ICE international gaming conference held in London. Together with Ontario’s Attorney General, Doug Downey, and other stakeholders, Nally participated in a roundtable discussion regarding the status of iGaming in Canada. CDC Gaming Reports also revealed that the discussion highlighted the success of iGaming in Ontario and how Alberta can emulate this success story.
Looking into the Alberta Budget 2024, it’s evident that state monopoly could soon give way to Canadian casinos to thrive in the province. Alberta took the first baby steps towards a more liberal gambling sector after setting aside $1 million for gambling. This budget will support the looming review of the Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis Act and supporting Regulation. The idea is to review the entire regulatory framework to find more funding ways for Alberta charities and community projects.
Major operators like BetMGM, PointsBet, and PokerStars have since hired lobbyists to ensure commercial operators become a reality in Alberta. Speaking to investors and industry analysts in March this year, PointsBet CEO Sam Swanell tipped Alberta and British Columbia to legalize online betting soon. He noted that this could provide the much-needed expansion of that TAM.
Alberta is yet to take full advantage of online gambling despite being the country’s fourth-largest province, with around 4.3 million people. Smaller markets in North America, such as West Virginia and Connecticut, are already benefiting from commercialized online gambling. The good news is that noises about legal online gambling are getting louder in Alberta. It’s just a matter of when the government will make the announcement.
What Next for Online Gambling and Betting in Alberta?
Including a $1 million gambling review budget is definitely a step in the right direction. However, there’s still much to do to end Alberta’s long-standing gambling status quo. But at least the budget opens the door for further discussions and reforms regarding iGaming in Alberta. That discussion has been underway, although the momentum has increased in the last year or so.
As it stands, PlayAlberta.ca is the only regulated online gaming platform in Alberta. It’s a government-run website operated by the AGLC (Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis). Besides casino games, this website provides sports betting and lottery-style gaming experiences. The legal sign-up age on PlayAlberta.ca is 18 years.
For Albertans who prefer more gambling freedom, the government doesn’t restrict anyone from joining offshore operators. Most gaming sites operating in Alberta are licensed in Curacao, the UK, and Malta. Compared to PlayAlberta.ca, these websites provide a more extensive variety of games, rewards, and general experience.
In conclusion, it’s just a matter of when Alberta will introduce an open-licensing market. This approach has proved to be a success elsewhere, especially in Ontario. A recent Ipsos report in Ontario revealed that only 13.6% of the residents prefer to gamble on offshore websites. Alberta could soon follow this path, although there’s much work to do to realize this dream.
Local News
Winnipeg-born Elliot Lazar to star as Paul Simon in “The Simon & Garfunkel Story” at Centennial Concert Hall
By BERNIE BELLAN Elliot Lazar’s career has long been chronicled in the pages of The Jewish Post & News. Do a search for his name in our “Search Archives” button and you will find a multitude of stories about Elliot from the time he was five years old.
A talented singer, musician, and musical arranger, also a graduate of Gray Academy, the University of Manitoba’s Desautels Faculty of Music, and the Boston Conservatory, Elliot has appeared many times in Winnipeg, including most recently last summer in Rainbow Stage’s production of “Rent.”
He’s been constantly busy – as a review of some of his past acting credits reveals. Last season alone, in addition to his performing in “Rent,” Elliot also appeared in the National Tour of “Fiddler on the Roof,” and “The Band’s Visit” (Huntington/Speakeasy Stage).
We’re excited to announce that Elliot will be appearing in Winnipeg for one night only, May 21, starring as Paul Simon in “The Simon & Garfunkel Story.”
Here’s Elliot’s own story about his growing up in Winnipeg:
“I grew up in Garden City, attended Gray Academy (K-12) and majored in vocal performance at the University of Manitoba’s Desautels Faculty of Music. I lived in Winnipeg until I was 22, so I’m pretty connected with the arts scene there still. The venue we’re playing, the Centennial Concert Hall, I was last seen in Guys and Dolls in concert with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Rainbow Stage (2019), and before that I sang with the Manitoba Opera Chorus in 3 productions there. My last performance in Winnipeg was in Rent with Rainbow Stage this past summer. Other local performing arts companies I have a history with there are Winnipeg Jewish Theatre, Winnipeg Studio Theatre, Dry Cold Productions, Manitoba Theatre for Young People, Manitoba Underground Opera, Little Opera Company, and the Winnipeg Fringe Festival. I grew up going to see shows at the Concert Hall, so it’s a wonderful full circle moment for me.”
About “The Simon & Garfunkel Story”:
Nostalgia-inducing unforgettable hits! The internationally-acclaimed hit theater show The Simon & Garfunkel Story (www.thesimonandgarfunkelstory.com) returns to the road in 2024 with a North American tour to more than 25 cities. Kicking off in Richmond, Kentucky on January 28, 2024, the immersive concert-style tribute show will recreate the magic and authenticity of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel on stage and chronicles the amazing journey shared by the iconic, GRAMMY-award winning folk-rock duo. It tells the story from their humble beginnings as Tom & Jerry, to their incredible success as one of the best-selling music groups of the ‘60s, and to their dramatic split in 1970. The Simon & Garfunkel Story culminates with the pair’s famous “The Concert in Central Park” reunion in 1981 which had more than half a million fans in attendance. Tickets are on sale now.
The show features a set list of nearly 30 songs and uses state-of-the-art video projection, photos and original film footage. A full live band will perform all of the hits including “Mrs. Robinson,” “Cecilia,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Homeward Bound” and many more complete with the unmistakably perfect harmonies that will transport audiences down memory lane.
With more than 100 million album sales since 1965, Simon & Garfunkel’s unforgettable songs and poetic lyrics poignantly captured the times made them one of the most successful folk-rock duos of all time. Over the years, they won 10 GRAMMY Awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. In 1977, the Brit Awards honored their “Bridge Over Troubled Water” album with Best International Album. In 2003, Simon & Garfunkel were awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and the following year saw their “The Sound of Silence” awarded a Grammy Hall of Fame Award.
Local News
Ida and the late Saul Alpern have donated 2 ambulances and a scooter to Magen David Adom in past 4 years
By BERNIE BELLAN Saul Alpern passed away in 2022, but before he died he and his wife Ida had decided to make Magen David Adom a major recipient of their generosity.
As Myron Love noted in an October 2020 article the Alperns had been contributing small amounts to the Canadian Magen David Adom for some time, but it was in that year they decided to donate $160,000 for the purchase of a Mobile Intensive Care Unit for Israel’s Magen David Adom.
As Myron wrote in that 2020 article, an MICUA (which is larger than an ambulance, is staffed by paramedics, and responds only to the most medically serious cases) was donated “to the people of Israel in memory of Saul Alpern’s parents and siblings who perished in the Holocaust.
“It is an expression of my love for my family and my love of Israel,” Saul Alpern said at the time.
In early 2022 the Alperns donated yet another $170,000 for the purchase of a second MICU for Magen David Adom.
Saul Alpern passed away in November 2022, but Ida Alpern has now continued the legacy of giving to Canadian Magen David Adom that she and Saul had begun several years before. Just recently Ida contributed $39,000 toward the purchase of an emergency medical scooter. According to the CMDA website, “the scooter, which is driven by a paramedic, can get through traffic faster than the Standard Ambulance or MICU and provide pre-hospital care. It contains life-saving equipment, including a defibrillator, an oxygen tank, and other essential medical equipment.”
I asked Ida whether she wanted to say anything about the motivation for her and her late husband’s support for CMDA. She wrote, “Having survived the Holocaust, and being a Zionist, Saul felt that supporting Israel was of the utmost importance.”
On May 7, CMDA will be honouring Ida and Saul z”l Alpern at a dinner and show at the Centro Caboto Centre. Another highlight that evening will be the announcement of the purchase of an ambulance for CMDA by another Winnipegger, Ruth Ann Borenstein. That ambulance will be in honour of Ruth’s late parents, Gertrude and Harry Mitchell. The evening will also commemorate the late Yoram East (aka Hamizrachi), who was a well-known figure both in Israel and here in Winnipeg.
For more information about the May 7 event go to https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/canadian-magen-david-adom-for-israel/events/cmda-winnipeg-an-evening-of-appreciation/ or to purchase tickets phone 587-435-5808 or email sfraiman@cmdai.org
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